Air Liquide subsidiary Schulke is being purchased by private equity group EQT Partners

Freshfields, Baker and Latham Advise on Sale of Air Liquide's Hand Sanitizer, Disinfectant Unit to EQT Partners

Air Liquide has agreed to the sell Schülke to the private equity firm for roughly €900 million as demand for disinfectant products grows due to the coronavirus.

April 10, 2020 at 03:32 PM

2 minute read

By Eva von Schaper

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Baker McKenzie and Latham & Watkins advised on the proposed sale of Air Liquide's hand sanitizer business to private equity firm EQT.

The business, Schülke & Mayr, is a leading provider of hygiene solutions and a subsidiary of Air Liquide, a large, Paris-based industrial gases company.

Freshfields and Latham advised Stockholm, Sweden-based EQT, and Baker McKenzie advised Air Liquide.

Demand for products made by Germany-based Schülke, such as alcohol-based hand wipes, has soared in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Air Liquide had put the unit up for sale last year and had asked bidders to increase their bids in March. The final price was €900 million ($985 million), according to the Financial Times. Schülke, which has about 1,200 employees, saw a 2018 revenue of €343 million ($375 million).

Schülke was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1889 and has been part of Air Liquide since 1996.

EQT said it will support Schülke in its efforts to contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the supply of urgently needed disinfectants.

"The company's mission is about protecting lives and its employees are currently working day and night to adhere to this mission in the unprecedented COVID-19 situation,'' Matthias Wittkowski, a partner at EQT Partners, said in a statement.

The deal is subject to a final agreement between both parties and to regulatory agreement.

Freshfields advised on M&A aspects of the deal. The Freshfields team was led by Wessel Heukamp on global transactions and included partners Juliane Hilf and Michael Ramb on regulatory, Uta Itzen on antitrust, Michael Josenhans on finance, David Beutel on tax and René Döring on people and reward.

Latham partners Dominic Newcomb and Thomas Weitkamp advised EQT on financing agreements.

Baker MacKenzie advised Air Liquide, led by partner Florian Kästle. Partners Andrea Ziegler and Alain Sauty de Chalon advised on M&A. Partner Thomas Gierath was on tax, partners Christian Burholt and Christian Horstkotte on antitrust, partner Denise Broussal on employment and partners Anahita Thoms and Guillaume Nataf on public law.